Meet The Godparents
A/N – The Harry Potterverse and everything directly associated with it is the property of JK Rowling and her various corporate partners. Since I haven't declared anyone delusional lately, though the thought has crossed my mind, I'm not her and this is a work of fanfiction. End housekeeping mode.
This chapter will be the longest to date, and it contains no changes regarding the recent controversy of "did they or didn't they" surrounding earlier chapters. I thought about altering the opening scene to clear up who was speaking when, but I decided against it for two simple reasons. The first reason is that if you pay attention, and know basic canon casting, you should be able to determine who was speaking from context. The second is that the effect I'm going for is disembodied voices in the mists of somewhere, and putting tags in to id the speakers would diminish that effect, which I admit is overly visual. I used to be married to a screenwriter, some habits are hard to break.
And I do owe an apology to all of the people who have read the story and either enjoyed it so far or have suspended judgment upon it until they see what I'm actually doing. I thank you all for the support you've given me and the story, and I'll try to live up to the expectations that I do a competent job on this. And while I have, reluctantly, abandoned stories for a long period of time in the past elsewhere, that isn't going to happen here.
And as a note to anyone who gave up on me finishing those two elsewhere, at least one of them will be continued in the not so far future. The one on HPFF, I'll try to complete if I can ever puzzle out the changes they've made to posting materials on that site since I last posted there. I tried four times to upload a one shot to let folks know I was alive, and I couldn't get it to look anything other than dreadful, so I left it until I could spend time puzzling out what they've done there.
And now, on with our story. It's late Friday night, almost Saturday, and things are about to get very interesting.
Chapter Thirteen – Voices in the Mist and the Godparents Meet
Darkness has fallen over Grimmauld Place. Quiet has blanketed the house, for the most part. The second floor hallway was quiet, thanks to noise deadening spells that muffled the normal night noises of the house. The one on Ron's door had been carefully calibrated to account for his snoring, so the rest of the floor is peacefully at rest.
In the nursery, moonlight illuminates a peaceful scene. Teddy sleeping quietly in his cot, his hair mimicking Hermione's. On the divan, Harry and Hermione sleeping peacefully, her head in his lap and his arm around her shoulders. Kreacher crouches on the floor watching the sleeping Teddy, waiting for something.
Pricking up his ears, listening to something no one else could hear, Kreacher smiles and glances up at the mirror over the cot. The mirror begins to glow with a soft silver light, as if it were a window or portal and roiling silver clouds were on the other side of it. Watching the mirror, an observer's gaze would be drawn into the mirror. Passing through the mirror, a shrouded landscape surrounds the observer. No sense of direction or distance applies, but voices in the mist draws the unseen observer on.
"Padfoot, are you certain you should do this?"
"Prongs, how many times are we going to talk this through? For whatever reason, I'm the only one who ended up here with a body. I can go back to the borderlands and talk to them while they dream as long as they're in the house."
"They're so happy, should we interfere?"
"Lily, of course they're happy. But they still need to know about the prophecy. You know how both of them are; they'll want to know so they can plan."
"You mean so she can plan."
"Sev, Harry has plans, you have to admit that."
"Enough of this bickering, do we have another choice?"
"Wormtail's on the other side."
"Moony, you know none of them have seen him. He's hiding out in Malfoy Manor, refusing to cross over. Besides, neither one of them would trust him. Would you trust Peter if he showed up as a ghost and started telling you that you had to make a choice about Nymphadora?"
"I told you, it's 'Tonks'. Call me that one more time James and I'll hex you."
"Prongs, I never said that Wormy was a good idea, you asked if there were any other options. And please, if you won't call her Tonks, at least try for Dora." A few seconds of silence, then. "Mad Eye should be on their side."
"In more ways than one, but no one's seen neither hide nor hair of Alastor since Harry's rescue. He's not here, but if he stayed behind, you'd think someone would have heard something. He'd never pass up a chance to haunt every Death Eater he ever suspected."
"Just a thought, and it sounds as if you're right."
"Is Albus certain about the prophecy?"
"As certain as he always is about this sort of thing."
"Why can't I know the specifics of the prophecy?"
"Padfoot, for the twentieth time, it's because everyone here, even you, knows that you'll tell them if you know."
"Is He really coming back?"
"Since Voldemort is truly gone, once he gets out of Azkaban, Lucius and his leftover Death Eaters will try to bring Salazar Slytherin back."
"If they keep him locked up forever, then we won't have to interfere with them. Look at them James, they're so good together. I've been waiting since they rescued Padfoot for them to figure out how they felt about each other."
"Lily, no one stays locked up forever. And even if he did, someone else would just take his place and then the whole prophecy would be out the door. At least, this way, Draco is supposed to help the four of them stop it."
"How are they supposed to stop it if they don't know what they're doing?"
"Albus says that the prophecy indicates they will successfully oppose it if the four of them are working together. What's the chance of that if those two run off together? Miss Weasley is known to hold a grudge.
"Severus, she's more like Molly than anyone wants to admit, I'd say the chances are naught."
"Thank you, James."
"Don't cry Lils, they'll be together eventually."
"Padfoot, I told you not to call me that. I'm his mother, I can cry if I want. You're going to break their hearts."
"Padfoot, just go. Right or wrong, if we don't do anything, Teddy will draw them together enough that they'll realize how they really feel. Ginny's already starting to see it."
"Are you sure Dora? They'd be wonderful parents for Teddy."
"They'll still be his godparents. Even if Mum does most of the day to day parenting, they can still make certain he's loved by everyone involved."
"Right then, I'm off. Someone wish me luck."
"Try not to screw this up Sirius."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence Severus. Did you ever consider a career as a motivational speaker?"
"Ahem"
"Sorry Albus, I didn't see you come in, Padfoot was just leaving."
"Sirius?"
"Yes, Albus?"
"Tell Miss Granger I'm dreadfully sorry, but I'm afraid she's going to have to be very annoyed with me for many more years until this sorts itself out."
"She's so going to have your portraits transported to Azkaban."
"The price one pays for doing the right thing."
The bounding silhouette of an immense dog streaks through the silvery mist towards the glowing rectangle of light that is the reverse side of the mirror. Pausing for a second, it seems as if the shadowy dog peers through the glass, shakes its head, and then gathers itself. Leaping through the light, it disappears and only the silvery mist is left, trackless as before.
Looking around, Sirius was amazed at the changes in his old house. While not totally there, the presence of his soul and manifested body in that area between the worlds called The Borderlands allowed him to interact with the material world in limited locals. Gazing fondly at the sleeping teens on the couch, he shook his head.
"I should have seen this coming. She's so much like Lily it's scary."
"Master Sirius has returned, I see." Jumping at the bullfrog voice of Kreacher, Sirius whirled around to face the house elf.
"I should have known that you would be able to see me, Kreacher." Looking embarrassed, Sirius studied the elf carefully.
"Kreacher, I'm very glad that you've served Harry and his friends as well as you have. I was wrong about you, and I was wrong to treat you the way I did." Looking over his shoulder and nodding towards the sleeping Hermione, he smiled.
"I'll tell that one that she's right about house elves and I was very wrong," Turning back to face Kreacher, he knelt down and extended his hand to the elf. "Regulus is well and he speaks of your admirable service. I thank you for helping my brother to redeem himself and affirm that your service is a credit to the House of Black."
"Tell Master Regulus that Kreacher honors his memory." Touching the locket that hung from a goblin silver chain around his neck, he bowed.
"But I think that this is ill done, interfering with the young Master and his Companion, regardless of the motivation. They have both suffered much and are finding their true happiness with each other, thanks to the youngest Black." Gazing fondly at the sleeping Teddy, Kreacher placed a gentle hand on the infant's back. "No one will listen to Kreacher on this."
Shaking his head, Sirius stood and watched the elf. "Kreacher, if it's any consolation, I don't like this any more than you do. There's a prophecy and if these two pair off, bad things will happen. My job is to influence their dreams so they remain friends, even though we all think it's wrong."
"The old bearded one is convinced that this will bring about happiness for these two?" Looking at him curiously, Kreacher moved to stand between Sirius and the sleeping pair.
"Albus is certain that this will bring about a chance for the four of them to prevent the return of Salazar Slytherin." Shaking his head, he frowned. "I'm sorry Harry, but it looks as if you're going to have to be the one who shoulders the weight of the world once again. Blame Trelawney I suppose."
"Why not blame Albus Dumbledore, since he isn't being totally candid with Harry once again?"
Sirius whirled around and faced an incredibly beautiful woman sitting in the rocking chair behind him. Dressed in a fashion that was out of date a thousand years ago, there was something slightly alien about her as she sat in the moonlight gazing at him in an appraising manner. Kreacher was shaking his head and side stepping so that he was between both of the newcomers and the sleepers.
"Bloody hell, who are you?" Looking closely, he could see that while she was casting a shadow in the room, she seemed more substantial to him that the things in the room, which meant she existed in the Borderlands where he currently stood.
"Kreacher, I'm not going to harm your precious charges. Unlike some, I'm going to insure that they are afforded a choice." Looking back at Sirius, she inclined her head.
"You can call me Maeve, and I'm here on behalf of my own." Gesturing towards Hermione, she smiled fiercely.
"I won't see this one hurt blindly again. Your meddling old fool almost cost Hermione her life with his endless plans and plots that night. If she's going to be hurt, then she's going to go into it with her eyes wide open and willingly." Looking at Harry, she smiled.
"Since he's her Chosen, my protections will extend to him as well."
"He's my godson; do you think this is easy for me?" Looking at the two sleeping peacefully, Sirius shook his head. "But a name doesn't answer my question, although it was very impolitely framed. Mistress Maeve, who are you and what is your interest in this?"
Chuckling in a low voice that sent chills up Sirius' spine, Maeve studied him very carefully. After a moment that seemed to stretch on forever, during which Sirius felt certain that the mysterious visitor was peering into his soul, she drew herself up in the chair and smiled.
"I am Maeve, Queen of the Sidhe and Mistress of the Elven Lands, upon whose borders you currently stand." Nodding towards Hermione she smiled fondly.
"And my interest is in fulfilling my oath to this one. She doesn't know it, but she has a claim of kith and kin upon the People under the Hills and I'll not see her hurt blindly." Looking back up at him, she pushed her hair back behind her ears, and Sirius could see the subtle points that crowned her upswept ears.
"What makes you say that Albus isn't being candid with them?" Arching an eyebrow at her, he smiled nervously.
"There's a prophecy and he's fairly certain that this is the best path to take to skirt all of the dangers it presents."
Laughing, a sound that was reminiscent of tinkling bells, Maeve gazed at him fondly.
"A prophecy, aye there's a prophecy. There's always a prophecy. I'm surprised that humankind can select whether to have rashers or bangers for breakfast without running afoul of some prophecy."
Reaching into her robes, Maeve pulled out a crystal globe that glowed eerily in the light.
"Catch."
Tossing the globe to him, she laughed again as Sirius juggled for a second before he caught it securely. The globe had a label attached to it. Written in a spidery script the label read;
'SPT to APWBD(d)
Harry Potter, Hermione Granger (Potter?), Ron Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Salazar Slytherin,
unknown wizard (Lucius or Draco Malfoy?), unknown wizard (Sirius Black?), and unknown witch (?)
12 May, 1998'
"Would that be your prophecy?"
"This is supposed to be in the Department of Mysteries. They must be going spare trying to find it."
"Indeed. In fact they considered the fact that your godson and his friends broke into the Hall of Prophecy once before as proof that they must have done it until Arthur Weasley was able to account for their presence during the time I liberated this trinket." Laughing at the look on Sirius' face, the sound of her laugh reminded him of delicate crystal chiming in the morning sun.
"How were you able to liberate this? Prophecies can only be retrieved by the individuals named." Watching her closely, Sirius noticed a strange look flashed across the exotic beauty's face.
Smiling, she shrugged enigmatically.
"Did Dumbledore tell you what was in the prophecy?"
Looking abashed, Sirius glanced down at the globe with more than a hint of suspicion.
"No, he didn't. He said that prophecy was worded in such a way that it could impact on these two and invalidate itself if they knew some of the specifics." Looking unsure of himself he glanced up at her.
"Do you know what's in here?"
Holding out her hand, she waited for him to return the globe. As their fingers brushed, a small shock ran through Sirius. Smiling at him, she returned the globe to her robes.
"I do know what's in there, and as far as he said, your Dumbledore is correct. But did he tell you what happens if they succeed?"
"Slytherin is prevented from coming back. End of story, bad guy is worm food." Smiling thinly, he waited for the other shoe to drop.
"There is that, but there's something else. If they succeed, then two of the four will die."
"Albus would never hide something like that." Shocked, Sirius shook his head.
"And just when did Harry find out he had to go willingly to his death to defeat Voldemort?"
"You can't be serious?"
"Actually, you're Sirius, I'm Maeve." Grinning at the expression on his face, she shrugged.
"If they succeed, then some time will pass while their surviving enemy regroups. If the enemy moves early, then the two youngest Weasleys will perish when she moves against them. If their enemy waits then your godson will lose his two oldest friends in one stroke. What do you think that will do to him if he has to watch her die because someone wants revenge on him? How long will he survive with that guilt?"
Sighing, Maeve looked over at the sleeping pair. "They can't know everything, but they will know enough. That's why I'm going to insist that they're going to have a choice, and that they know what they're giving up." Standing, she walked over to the divan and took Sirius' hand.
"Look carefully at them." With the touch of Maeve's hand, the image of the two subtly changed. Sirius could see a glow to them, and could see the brightly glowing channels that connected the sleeping pair. From both of them he could also see fainter conduits of energy that passed out of the room while another pair returned to them.
"You can see it at the heart level; you can see their love for each other. While they do care for the others, and that affection is returned, it's not what they have for each other. They may be happy at the moment with their redheads but they really are not well suited for each other, especially her. And there is something off in the connection between him and the ginger witch…" Trailing off, Maeve studied the energy returning to Harry and then shrugged as it stabilized.
Squeezing his hand tighter, Sirius could feel a subtle exchange between the two of them and felt his perceptions of the room shift.
"Now look deeper, past their hearts and down to their souls." Sirius stared at the two, and it seemed his perception began to sink through them. The external forms of Harry and Hermione began to waver, and he could see the essence that made up both of them.
At that level, the two weren't joined so much as they were mingled. Sirius couldn't tell where one began and the other left off. The two fed off each other, reinforcing the weak points in the other while accepting the same in return. But instead of the clean silver glow of a patronus, the image of their souls was surrounded by a faint blue sheen that tried to mask the conjoined souls
"Soul bound, one to another. Freely chosen, though they've both set aside their external feelings and not willingly. They've now gone and cared for others, but the bonds that connect them are still there." Looking Sirius in the eye, she could see the concern and affection he had for the sleeping boy.
"But while such a thing cannot be totally hidden from the ones so bound, someone has meddled to dissuade them from acknowledging their connection openly. They know deeply of each other, but they instinctively resist manifesting their bond because of the meddling. And this is what has led them into their external relationships."
Pausing for a moment, Maeve's eyes flashed as she softly added, "They are seeking for what they already have because someone has blinded them to where to find it."
Starting to speak, Sirius slowly closed his mouth and then his eyes. Muttering something that sounded suspiciously close to "Lily's going to kill the old bastard", Sirius thought for a moment before opening his eyes and turning to Maeve who was smiling smugly at him.
"How did this come about?"
"They pledged themselves to each other at a spot almost sacred to her, as she followed her heart on behalf of her Chosen," Maeve simply replied
His mind boggled at what he was seeing and hearing, Sirius shook his head trying to make sense of this entire thing.
"When?"
"When did they pledge themselves or when did their Headmaster blind them to the truth," Maeve asked.
"Both. Either." His mind still reeling with the fact that the pair had managed to make such a commitment to each other without anyone other than Dumbledore noticing, a dark suspicion began to form.
Placing her hand on his forearm, Maeve shook her head. "It's both less and more sinister than what you suspect," she answered. Seeing the look in his eye, she shook her head softly.
"He didn't coerce others or modify the memories of anyone else at the school because he was able to find them alone before anyone noticed the change between them."
Leaning forward, Maeve placed her hands on the heads of the sleeping teens. Whispering a word that would have turned Sirius' mind to mush if he had tried to comprehend it, she smiled as a silvery glow surrounded both of her hands.
Raising her hands so they were about eight inches apart and right in front of her, palms facing, Maeve smirked at the Marauder and issued him a challenge.
"Should I merely tell you, or would you rather know?"
Holding her eyes for a moment with his own, Sirius stared deep into them. Seeing the sincerity and affection that she had, he summoned up his Marauder spirit and knelt before her as he quipped, "Show me yours, and I'll show you mine."
And immediately repented of that when he saw the sly smile on her face. As her hands gently cupped the sides of his head, the last thing he heard before he was plunged into the memory was "Oh, I've already seen yours, Sirius Orion. Samhain, 1978. The Golden Athame Inn in Glasgow."
Before he could respond, Sirius' world exploded into a fireworks display worthy of the Weasley twins at their best and suddenly found himself observing the library at Hogwarts ….
Sunday 22 November 1994
Much to the chagrin of Madam Pince, the Hogwarts library is never really silent while school is in session. From the moment it opens in the morning until the last student, usually a Ravenclaw or a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor, is chivvied out late at night, there is a constant undercurrent of sound that becomes a familiar and comforting background to those who spend a great deal of time there.
The shuffling of parchments, the murmured conversations, the scratching of quills, punctuated by the thump of chair legs suddenly returning to the floor as their occupants returned to wakefulness were all interrupted by an audible 'thud' as a stack of tomes, two-thirds the height of the bushy-haired witch that was carrying them, were placed on a library table, next to a raven-haired wizard with emerald-green eyes.
"These are the last of them."
Shaking her head, Hermione Granger plopped wearily into 'her' chair around the table. Back near the Restricted Section, this particular table had become the territory of Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and, very occasionally, Ron Weasley during the first three years they had attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Since most students avoided that part of the library, if at all possible, their claim as 'ickle firsties' went unchallenged. The occasional odd occurrence in such close proximity to ancient, moldering tomes that contained subject matter deemed too questionable, evil, or dangerous for the average student to have ready access to left the three with a table that was almost always available.
Raising his head from where it had been resting on the book he had been 'reading', Harry blearily stared at his best mate.
"Anything worthwhile?"
"These are all the potentially useful ones we have access to." Seeing the look on Harry's face, she shrugged. "I left behind the ones that Hagrid had our first year, since those were more geared towards how to raise the poxy menaces from an egg, not steal their eggs from them."
"Good point. I suppose I can skip knowing how to burp one, unless you think that might give me an edge." Shaking his head, Harry pulled the top book from the stack and gingerly laid it in front of him. Looking at the title, he sighed in frustration.
"Honestly, I don't think a book entitled 'My Life Among the Dragons – the Posthumous Memoirs of Aethelred the Mad' is likely to be helpful."
"Care to give 'Draconic Anatomy and Physiology' a shot?" Seeing the horrified look on his face as she held up the next selection, Hermione smiled. "I thought not. " Reaching across the table, she gripped his hand.
"Harry, I'm certain we'll find something to help you through this." Squeezing hers in return, Harry sighed.
"Hermione?"
Waiting for her to look up, Harry smiled when she did. "If you end up having to write my 'Posthumous Memoirs…' try to make it sound like I knew what I was doing."
Seeing her glare that was disturbingly reminiscent of their Head of House, Professor McGonagall, Harry quickly put his head back down and began going through the dusty old tome in front of him, missing the half smile that crept onto her face as she gently squeezed his hand one last time before starting with her own search.
Four hours and one short break for a abbreviated meal later the pair had gone through the entire stack and had then swapped books, so they were reviewing each other. As Hermione got to the end of 'My Life Among the Dragons…' she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off the headache she could feel approaching.
Feeling she had somehow failed Harry by not being able to coax a solution from the available materials, she sat back dejectedly.
"Harry, this is getting us nowhere. There simply aren't any credible books on dealing effectively with dragons that we can get access to. For some reason I can't fathom, it would appear that no one ever considered a fourth year student going up against dragons as a reasonable part of the Hogwarts experience."
Looking frustrated, Hermione was watching Harry warily as he cradled his head in his hands.
"Just lovely. I suppose you want to abandon me also." Looking up with desperation in his eyes, he glanced towards the front of the library. "Go find Ron and tell him what a pompous prat I am for putting myself in this bloody tournament, just so I can get myself killed."
Shaking her head, Hermione got out of her seat and unceremoniously budged Harry half off his chair and sat down with him. Putting her arm around him, she turned his face towards hers.
"Harry, I never said anything about abandoning you." Smiling at him, she tried to cheer him up.
"Have you talked to him about this yet?"
"Ron still thinks I put that slip in the Goblet just to make a name for myself. I don't see what I can do until he's willing to believe me that I didn't do this." Shaking his head, Harry turned his face back to the books.
"He's just jealous. It's not easy being your best mate, you know."
"You don't seem to have any problem with it. Or are you intending to bail on me as soon as I seem to do something that annoys you?" While he was trying to keep his voice light, Hermione could feel him grow tense beside her as he awaited her answer.
"Harry, that's just ridiculous. It's different with us, we're not competing like that, and I can't imagine you doing anything to annoy me that much. You can be annoying, but you usually see reason in a few minutes and admit I'm right."
Smiling, she watched him look at her out of the corner of his eye as he turned the pages of the book in front of him.
"You do know that it's generally considered easier to find something in a book if you actually read it," she added so drolly that she might have been commenting on the weather.
They both started snickering, and tried to keep from breaking out into actual laughter.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. You and Ron were the first people my own age to actually be friends with me and now with some of the others it's still hard to believe that all this is real." Turning in his seat and waving his arm around the library, he shook his head.
"I can still hear my Aunt and Uncle telling me what a worthless freak I am, how I was just such a drain on their budget, and how I should be thankful for a cupboard to live in…" Clapping his hand over his mouth, Harry looked horrified and turned a furious shade of red. Stunned, Hermione pulled his hand away from his mouth and looked deep into his eyes.
"Harry, what was that you just said?" Seeing that he was shaking his head from side to side, she put her hands on his cheeks and held his face still.
"Harry, you have to tell me what you just said." Tears were forming in her eyes as she tried to imagine the life her best friend had lived before coming to Hogwarts. "Ronald and the twins said they rescued from a bedroom with bars on the windows, but they didn't say anything about a cupboard."
Looking away from her, he sat very tense in the chair with her. "From the time I could remember, I lived in a cupboard under the stairs at their house. They didn't give me a room until the Hogwarts letter arrived addressed to me care of said cupboard. When they panicked, that was my first clue that it wasn't normal for an orphan to be living there." Shaking, Harry was trying to control his emotions.
"I did all the chores for them and my cousin, ate the crusts, got picked on and beaten at school by Dudley's gang and that was what I knew of life. Two major things changed the year I turned eleven. I found out about magic, and I got you for a friend."
Still not looking at her, he gave up the pretense of turning the pages in the book in front of him. Smiling sadly, he remembered the first day he had met Hermione, how she had come bustling into his compartment without a by your leave and proceeded to take charge, how she had casually repaired his glasses without even a thought or recrimination.
"At least I'll never lose the magic."
"Harry James Potter, I don't know everything that has happened to you, but I can promise you this." Taking his chin in her hand, she turned his head until he was finally looking at her.
"None of that was your fault, and if you want to be rid of me as a friend you're just going to have to do it yourself, because I'm not going anywhere. Honest." They looked at each other for several seconds until a mischievous grin appeared on her face.
"Harry, I think what we need is a dire and serious oath to pledge our friendship so you'll never have to worry about me leaving you." Nodding towards the parchment in front of him, she nudged his arm. "Write down what you think about our relationship, and I'll do the same and then we'll swear this very solemn muggle oath that I learned growing up."
Popping up from her seat beside Harry, Hermione went back to her own chair and began quickly, but neatly, writing on the parchment before her. Looking nervously at the sheet in front of him, Harry began cautiously scratching lines upon the parchment; all the while glancing up at Hermione with a look of quiet disbelief on his face.
After several minutes, Hermione placed her quill down with a satisfied look on her face. Harry continued on for several minutes more, before finally setting his quill down with a serious look on his. Giving it one final read-through, he finally smiled.
"Harry, do you want to start, or shall I?" Harry nodded towards her, not trusting himself to speak. Picking up her sheet, she got up and came around to join Harry on his chair.
"Harry James Potter. I, Hermione Jane Granger, do hereby make this solemn vow that I will be your friend and companion as long as we live. Your causes are mine, your friends my friends, your enemies are mine.
"I swear that I will be there for you whenever you need me, no matter when or where. Ask and I'll come, lead and I'll follow. Regardless of what happens, you're my friend and companion, and we'll face whatever we have to together, now and in the future." Smiling she placed the sheet on the table before them. Nudging him, she nodded towards his sheet.
"Hermione Jane Granger. I, Harry James Potter, am your friend and companion. I don't know much about this, but I do know that I will believe in you, care for you, and be your friend for as long as I live.
"I will be there for you when all others are gone, and I'll know you're there with me without having to look because that's who you are. Now and forever, we're friends and companions." Smiling quietly, he placed the sheet on top of hers.
"Now what?"
"Place your left hand on top of mine." Smiling, she placed her left hand on the two sheets and wait. Smiling as he followed suit, she held up her right hand with her fifth finger extended.
"Now comes the solemn and dire part." Nodding at him as he copied her, she lowered her voice.
"An ancient and terrible muggle pact, dire consequences follow those who break this oath. Are you ready Harry?" Watching him nod, she smiled. 'Remember, if you do this, you're stuck with me for the rest of your life." Tears came to her eyes at the look on his face as he grinned back.
"The repeat after me." She moved her hand forward and wrapped her pinky around his and waited until their eyes met.
"Pinky swear?"
"Pinky swear," Harry repeated.
As they both nodded in affirmation, a faint golden glow emanated from the sheets of parchment beneath their left hands and the crystal sound of an arpeggio of chimes was heard throughout the library. For a brief moment, a nimbus of golden light surrounded their right hands.
Stunned, they dropped their hands and Hermione scooted back to her seat as they could hear Madam Pince searching for the source of the totally unacceptable noise in her library.
Looking nervously at each other, they both began staring at the books in front of them. From the other side of the library, they could hear Madame Pince berating the Weasley twins as the sources of the 'disturbance'.
Looking up at each other, they smiled guiltily as Fred and George loudly protested their innocence while gathering their things.
"It had to happen at least once," Hermione observed as she tentatively reached out her hand and brushed Harry's with hers.
"I'm certain they were doing something, so they probably aren't completely innocent." Seeing the questioning look from her, he shrugged as he curled his fingers around hers. "They're protesting too much. If they were actually innocent, this time, they'd be too shocked to argue."
"It does sound a tad rehearsed." Looking back down at the book she had been going through, she smiled.
"Still worried?"
"About?" Flipping back ten or twelve pages, Harry started going over the material he had glossed over earlier.
"Us."
"No." Looking up, Harry smiled. "Hermione?"
"I will. Don't worry about it." Shaking her head, she smiled as he went back to reading.
Closing the book she was going through, she sat back and watched him for several minutes. Coming to a conclusion, she stood up and began stacking the books back up. Seeing the questioning look on his face when he finally looked up, she smiled.
"We're done here."
"We are?" Standing, Harry placed the book he had been using on top of the pile and started to pick them up to return to the stacks.
"Honestly, Harry. Try to remember you're a wizard." Grinning as she winked at him, she casually waved her wand over the stack and intoned "Ordo ab chao".
Giggling at the look on Harry's face as the books obediently rose up from the table and began to make their way back into the stacks, Hermione moved beside him and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
"You didn't think Madam Pince went around manually shelving everything each evening, did you?"
"Never really thought of it, but I should have known that if there was a spell for it, you'd know it." Returning the hug, Harry smiled.
As they gathered up their belongings, Harry stopped for a second.
"How long have you known that spell?"
"I discovered it at the end of our first year. Why?" Walking beside him, she brushed her shoulder against his arm as they made their way past tables of students studying.
"Why do you always insist that Ron return the books we use to study with back to where you got them from?" Chuckling, Hermione lowered her head and blushed slightly.
"Harry, if Ron's going to sponge off us doing all the work on homework and essays, the least he can do is return the books when we're done with them."
Looking up, she smirked at the smile on his face.
"Why do you think I always send you to put away just one book when it's just the two of us and they're all gone by the time you get back?"
Shaking his head in disbelief, Harry sighed.
"Pinky swear?"
"Pinky swear."
Hooking her finger through his as they exited the library, they both missed the confusion that ensued when Madame Pince started hunting for the guilty parties as a series of chimes disrupted the quiet of the library, once again.
As the pair made their way from the library towards the stairs that would take them back to Gryffindor tower, the both halted when a familiar voice hailed them from the door of an empty classroom.
"Mister Potter, Miss Granger. A word if I might?"
Turning together , both of the teens stopped and inclined their heads towards Headmaster Dumbledore who was standing in the open doorway of a classroom, eyes twinkling as he smiled at them.
"Of course, Headmaster," Hermione replied. Her cheeks turning a faint pink as she realized her pinky finger was still twined around Harry's, she plucked up her courage and smiled back. "But if this is Tournament business, I can wait out here for Harry to finish."
"Nonsense," Dumbledore replied as he stepped to the side of the door and motioned the pair inside.
As the pair entered the disused classroom, neither noticed that the Headmaster closed the door behind them while sealing it nor his casting a very strong charm to keep people from noticing it. When they turned around, they saw a smiling Albus Dumbledore looking at them intently.
"Mr. Potter, do you remember my telling you that there were things about the night Voldemort killed your parents that I wasn't at liberty to tell you?'
Looking puzzled, Harry glanced over at Hermione to see if she had any clue as to where this was going. The look on her face was her 'thinking face', as he was wont to call it, but he could tell that she hadn't any more of a clue than he did where this was going."
Turning his attention back to the Headmaster, Harry was surprised as he caught the faintest glimpse of a frown on his face before his usually smiling face returned. Feeling Hermione shift her grip until she was holding his entire hand, he took a deep breath and nodded.
"I remember that, sir. And I also remember that you said that a day would come when I would know." Looking at Hermione out of the corner of his eye, Harry didn't react though he could feel her reaction to his answer.
"Unfortunately, today is not the day for such a discussion, but I've been made aware of something that is very troubling."
Both teen's attention was drawn back to their Headmaster, and were shocked to see him standing there with a sorrowful look on his face and his wand pointed at their conjoined hands. Before either could speak or move, they found themselves frozen in place, only able to move their eyes.
Trying to speak, Harry was stunned at hearing Hermione's voice in his head. "Harry, this isn't good. We should have made certain that this was the Headmaster before we trusted him."
Before Harry could answer, or even let Hermione know that he'd heard her mental voice, Professor Dumbledore chuckled.
"No, Miss Granger, though I will award five points to Gryffindor for reaching a very sound conclusion. I regret that the recent developments between the two of you must be overturned; your relationship must be sacrificed for the Greater Good. I can't in good conscience allow young Harry to be distracted from his ultimate goal of bringing about the defeat of Voldemort, so the two of you will have to forfeit your future together."
And with that, Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore raised the Elder Wand and used it to cast a spell that was considered far darker than any of the Unforgivables, one that no sane witch or wizard on the side of the Light would ever consider using.
As the wand returned to point directly at their joined hands, he intoned "Est Solvendi Animae!" in a clear, ringing voice.
As the ancient magic engulfed the pair, the pain of a dozen Cruciatus curses flowed through their bodies as the ancient formula to sever a soul bond was invoked.
"I know this is of little consequence to you," Dumbledore remarked calmly as the pair of teens fell bonelessly to the floor and began to writhe in pain, still joined by their clasped hands, "but there's a window of only an hour or so to sever the bond before the removal would kill you or drive you insane."
Seeing that the energies surrounding the couple was intensifying rather than dissipating, Albus frowned and poured more energy through the wand, which was resisting being made to participate in this sacrilegious act.
"Resisting will only prolong the pain," he advised. As the two managed to lock their eyes upon each other, he added. "Just let go and I'll release you and alter your memories to put this sad event behind us." As he watched the pair continue to convulse, he sighed. "It really is for the Greater Good."
Staring into each other's eyes, as their bodies thrashed helplessly on the floor, ideas flew back and forth at the speed of thought. Coming to a conclusion based upon Hermione's reading of muggle psychology and psychiatry texts, they both willed the connection between them down to the deepest recesses of their minds. Deeply hidden, but still present, the connection between the souls of Harry James Potter and Hermione Jane Granger wrapped itself around their magical cores, breaking the bonds that had been placed there and replacing them as the bond itself guided their efforts.
Once last thought resonated in both minds before the bond retreated so deep that conscious thought could not find it, causing the ancient curse to lift and finally allowing both of them to lapse into blessed, pain free, unconsciousness.
"Someday!"
Coming abruptly out of the memories of his godson and, apparently, his soulbound, Sirius felt waves of nausea as the hands on his temples held him upright. Unable to speak because of the magnitude of what he had seen, he simply raised his hands and grasped the slender wrists of the hands that were holding him upright.
"Now you've seen. Now you know," was the only thing Maeve said as he struggled to regain his equilibrium.
Gathering himself together, Sirius pushed up with his left leg and resumed a standing position facing Maeve. Her hands only fell away from his temples when it was apparent that he would be able to continue standing on his own. Feeling the anger at what had been perpetrated upon the two teens who were still sleeping beside them, consciously unaware of the enormity of the crime that had been committed, Sirius growled deep within his throat.
"Peace, Sirius, we will make whole what the old fool tried to steal from them," Maeve answered soothingly. "His attempt was doomed from the start; all he could take from them was time and their present. Their love and their future have always been beyond his reach."
Looking at her in disbelief, Sirius was about to speak when she placed a finger on his lips, shushing him.
"The bond between the pair of them is sacred, love in the purest expression that can be known in the mortal realms. These two coming together could no more be halted by any will except their own than could the rising of the sun in the east. Albus Dumbledore, for all of his powers and wisdom, was little more than a toddler throwing a tantrum because a thunderstorm was interfering in his plans."
"Any suggestions on how we deal with this meddling?" Looking back down at the pair, Sirius took a deep breath and tried to channel his anger at Albus into action.
"They will remember, they will have a choice, and they will know what they're choosing." Smiling at the look on his face, Maeve chuckled.
"They will have a choice – their first choice all over again, and I'm fairly certain how they'll choose. The power that Dumbledore put into the modifications of their memories means that we'll have to wait until their magic erodes the ones he placed there. The incident in the library will be crystal clear to them, his magic is no match for the power the two of them can bring to bear on it, but the knowledge of his betrayal, his attempt to cripple them, will take time to reawaken."
"I used to think that Albus was just unwilling to admit to himself or anyone else how deeply these two love each other." Looking disgusted, Sirius turned his head to watch them as they slept. "Now I wish I didn't know that he really didn't give a damn if they did."
Sighing, thinking about the confrontations he was going to have when he got back for not following through with Albus' hidden plan, he shook his head and smiled.
"This way I don't have to explain to James and Lily why I rerouted the kids' lives without their knowing about it. What do we need to do to give them your choice, their new beginning?"
"The lands of dreams lie alongside the Elven Lands where my realm lies. This is why mortals sometime cross over to us in their dreams. I can direct them there, but since they're both so stubborn, we'll have to get them to shed the limitations that his magic has coerced their hearts and minds into. When wizards cast a patronus, it touches on their very soul. If they cast it in a dream in the Borderlands…"
"Their souls will be released. And at the soul level, they won't be able to hide. Albus can mask their feelings from their conscious minds, but their souls know. And I know just what we need to do to get them to do that..."
Crashing through the underbrush in the night, Harry and Hermione are running through an unfamiliar forest. They could hear the sounds of pursuit in the distance. Stumbling into a clearing, the moon shown down bright and glorious as they stopped for a moment to catch their breath.
"Harry, what in Merlin's name have you gotten me into?" Smiling, Hermione grabbed Harry's hand as they looked around the clearing. Centered in the clearing was an ancient stone plinth.
"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing. This doesn't look like any of my nightmares." Looking around, he shook his head. "And I usually don't realize that I'm dreaming either."
Shaking her head, Hermione stared up at the sky. "Mine are usually Malfoy Manor, the Department of Mysteries or the Great Hall." Blushing, she shook her head. "Harry, I don't think this is just a dream." Waves of despair and anguish reached for them.
A tall, gaunt robed figure slowly came into view. Gliding into the clearing, the pair could feel the telltale draining of happiness as the dementor approached. Looking over his shoulder, Harry could see another approaching from the other side.
"Back to back, wands ready," he whispered.
Facing the two threats, their free hands clasped, they readied their wands.
"Patronuses?"
"Works every time." Grinning, she thought for a second. "Let's try to see what happens if we use the same happy thought. The day we met?"
"That always works for me. On three?"
"One"
"Two"
"Expecto Patronem!"
Two voices rang out in unison, and silvery wisps started to explode from their wands. Instead of coalescing into their beloved patronuses, the wisps curled back and began to envelop the pair.
A curious sense of disorientation followed and suddenly Hermione found herself much closer to the ground then she had been. Standing up on her hind legs (!) she looked down and saw the lower body of her otter gleaming in the night.
"Harry, we're in trouble here"
"Mi, where are Prongs and Starlight?" Harry's voice sounded panicked, although the dementors were keeping their distance.
"Who? Who's Starlight?"
"Your patronus." Sounding embarrassed, he continued. "That's how I always think of her."
"Harry, leave it to you to name my patronus. However, the answer to your question is we've become our patronuses. Look down at your feet, all four of them."
"Merlin. How'd that happen?"
"We'll figure that out later, love. Right now we need to get out of here." Concentrating, Hermione leapt into the air, did a spin around Harry's antlered head and landed on his back. "Ok Prongs, you run and I'll steer." Seeing a flash of light in the distance, she grabbed his antlers and gently turned his head in the proper direction. "Run towards that light, the dementors won't stop us and I'm certain whatever is chasing us isn't as fast as you are."
Nodding his head, and shaking Hermione as she held on for dear life, Harry began running in the direction she indicated.
"Stop nodding your bloody head. You might be a stag, but you can talk."
"Sorry about that. Any thoughts as to why this happened to us?" Harry's running settled down to a series of graceful leaps and bounds as he stopped thinking about running and just allowed himself to do it. "I like it, but I'm not looking forward to spending the rest of our lives like this."
"I'm working on it, but this isn't some Marauders-worthy prank we're pulling here." Tilting her head to the side, she listened. "Those don't sound like werewolves behind us; I think we're being chased by real wolves."
"Babe, is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"I take it the Dursleys never let you watch those nature specials on the telly, growing up."
"Are you kidding? If it didn't involve Vernon's financial shows, Dudders' exploding aliens, or Petunia's really bad variety shows, it didn't play at the house. Not that they'd let me watch the telly if it did."
"Well, one of the reasons there are so few wolves in Britain anymore is because they kept killing off the deer population," she replied dryly.
"Got it, bad thing. Too bad Hagrid never covered this kind of stuff in class."
"He did talk about those wolves that breathe out freezing masses of ice crystals from Norway."
"Are any those following us?"
"Haven't a clue."
"Fine, I'll just worry about the normal wolves that can eat me, not the ones that can turn me into a frozen pot roast."
"At least you get to be pot roast; all I am is a Popsicle." Looking carefully, Hermione noticed the gleam of right was off to their right. "Veer right, we're off track."
"I can see it now" Switching his heading, Harry started moving towards the light. "Any ideas on what we're going to do when we get there?"
"Figure out how to use it to our advantage. What we always do." Trying to sound reassuring, Hermione was desperately trying to think of a plan.
"Worst case scenario?" Sounding grim, Harry gracefully leaped over the brush as they wound their way through the ancient forest.
"We find a place where we can turn to face them with something at our backs. You stab them with the sharp pointy things that are so conveniently placed on your head while I play cheerleader and chant 'Go, Harry, Go'."
Sighing, Harry thought for a second. Resisting the urge to shake his head, he hazarded one look over his shoulder.
"If you're Starlight, then you can fly, love. What say you get the heck out of here and I run like the wind and lead the bad guys on a merry chase until sunrise?"
"Not a chance, Harry. We're in this together. I'm not leaving you alone here. This is why we need your brilliant idea."
"Working on one. When we got transfigured into our patronuses, what happened to our wands?"
Silence reigned for several seconds.
"When you looked down at your feet, did you see them lying on the ground?"
"Nope, and I think I would have noticed that. Does that mean we still have them?"
"Harry, I knew that I loved you for more than just your Quidditch muscles."
Doing a graceful pirouette, Hermione was now facing back the way they had come. Spying a rock lying beside the path, she silently levitated it up and sent it hurtling off into the brush behind them where it crashed with a resounding thud and a startled yelp.
"We're back in business; we've got all our magic."
"We've also got a glowing circle on a rock wall coming up. I thought you were driving?"
Flipping around, she landed on Harry's head, clutching his antlers with her forepaws. Directly ahead, and getting closer with each bound, was a glowing circle with a larger rectangle imposed upon it. Around the border there was an inscription.
"Harry, you've got the better eyes right now. What does the inscription say?" Feeling that the oncoming pattern looked familiar, she strained her eyes to see.
"Must be the orchestra entrance, it's the name of a musical instrument written all the way around that glowing circle." Shaking his head, he almost threw her off.
"Stop that Harry; I'm getting carsick, or deersick. Which instrument?"
"It says 'Viola'."
Laughing, Hermione pumped her forepaw in the air.
"Run straight for the circle and jump through it when I say the password."
"Password? Have you finally gone mental on me? It's going to hurt when we hit that wall."
"Do you trust me, Harry?"
"Of course, you know I do."
The wall loomed before them, and they were aiming directly for it. "Harry, if you love me, jump on three."
"One" The wall was coming closer
"Two" The sounds of the wolves were getting closer.
"Victorious!"
Harry's leap carried them through the center of the glowing circle, which flared briefly and then faded as the sounds of the wolves behind them fell silent.
A/N2 – For those of you who have read this story elsewhere, you've just hit the point where the world wobbled and changed. Rather than have the library scene in a different story of the story arc that I abandoned when I converted to Harmonianism, I placed it here. Regardless of what I decide about recasting the relationship between Ron and Hermione, this was going to be here and it requires no changes From this point onward, Sirius knows what a bastard Dumbledore is, and he won't be shy in making certain everyone else finds out.
And for those who commented upon the apparent quickness of Ron and Hermione's relationship, just a warning before the next chapter arrives. Harry and Hermione have been deeply in love with each other since fall of their fourth year and have, for all intents and purposes, 'dated' without consciously realizing it since then. Make of that what you will.
ap Aidan